However, just as Fu Mingxu turned to leave, Yun Zimo called out to him again: "Immortal Master, wait a moment."
Fu Mingxu turned around at the right moment and looked at him with a calm and composed expression.
Upon seeing that face, Yun Zimo's heart skipped a beat. After glancing at the black corner of the door frame, she quickly said, "I misread the price earlier. This hairband is actually only worth ten mid-grade spirit stones."
Ten mid-grade spirit stones? Did he stumble upon a huge on-site sale?
Fu Mingxu thought he had misheard and asked in surprise, "Are you kidding me?"
Yun Zimo smiled bitterly to himself. He dared not tease this person; he had only just received a message from the City Lord of Han outside.
Although he didn't know why the concealed presence outside wasn't coming in, he could only keep a straight face and try to answer in the calmest tone possible: "Of course not, I must have been mistaken just now."
Fu Mingxu stared into his eyes for a while, which made him feel guilty.
"Do you still want it?" Yun Ziming's back was beaded with sweat, his voice a little hesitant. "If not..."
He didn't know what to do if they didn't want it, and he didn't know that this unsold hairband would become a hot potato.
Outside the clothing store, Han Tao clenched his fists silently, looking even more nervous than Yun Zimo inside.
Fu Mingxu found the shop owner really strange. The sudden price reduction of the hairband surprised him. He originally wanted to refuse, but seeing the shop owner's anxious look, he became interested again.
"Then give it to me." He couldn't contain his joy and picked up the golden hairband again. "Are you sure it's ten mid-grade spirit stones? You're not going to suddenly raise the price again, are you?"
Yun Zimo felt that this was the most difficult business deal he had ever made. Helplessness flashed in his eyes, and he hurriedly said, "Of course not, Immortal Master, just give me ten mid-grade spirit stones."
The Lord of Han said he would make up the rest for him. Although he didn't know why the Lord of Han didn't come out to pay for his partner himself, but instead did it in such a sneaky way.
Fu Mingxu readily handed over ten mid-grade spirit stones. He folded the hairband, but instead of putting it in his storage bag, he put it directly into his pocket.
After he left the clothing shop, Yun Ziming secretly wiped away his sweat. He watched Fu Mingxu leave, and when he turned back, ninety mid-grade spirit stones were neatly arranged on the counter.
"Is this some kind of romantic gesture between Daoist couples?" Yun Zimo couldn't help but sigh after putting away the spirit stones. "I don't understand."
Fortunately, someone finally wanted the hairband that had been sitting in the shop for a long time. Thinking of this, he hummed a little tune again and waited for the next customer to arrive.
When Fu Mingxu returned to the courtyard, he discovered that Han Tao, who was resting in the side room, was nowhere to be found.
He didn't go out to look for it, but instead walked on the stone bench under the spirit peach tree, resting his chin on one hand and taking out the golden hairband from his pocket with the other, playing with it between two fingers.
Most of the peach blossoms on the spirit peach tree have fallen, leaving only a few scattered petals.
A few peach petals drifted down onto his dark hair, but Fu Mingxu didn't pay them any mind, only pondering the hairband.
Aside from the strange price fluctuations, his purchase was also impulsive. Now, as he calms down and reflects on it alone, an important question comes to mind.
Why would he give Han Tao a hairband out of the blue?
What kind of reason should we use?
Hairbands are considered relatively personal items, and Fu Mingxu knew that it was not uncommon for people among humans to give hairbands as a token of affection.
Do I have feelings for him? For some reason, he suddenly felt his ears getting hot.
"Forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore!" Fu Mingxu rubbed his head, crumpled the hairband in his hand into a ball, and stuffed it into his clothes. "Let's talk about it later."
Anyway, Han Tao doesn't know he bought a headband, so there's no need to worry about it.
A faint fragrance of peach blossoms lingered in the air. As dusk approached, Fu Mingxu stood up, stretched, and after a moment's thought, decided to send a message to Han Tao.
For some reason, his messages seemed to disappear without a trace, and he never received a response.
As dusk fell, a chill settled over Fu Mingxu, who casually pulled his clothes tighter. Just as he was thinking of returning to his room to meditate and cultivate, he saw the courtyard gate being pushed open from the outside.
The courtyard is protected by a barrier, and only Han Tao and himself can open the gate.
He stopped and looked up. When the creaking sound came, a tall and imposing figure appeared in front of him.
Fu Mingxu paused slightly, his hand holding his shirt collar trembling slightly, a strange tension creeping into his voice: "You're back."
He pressed his hand to his chest to make sure the hairband in his pocket hadn't fallen out before letting out a slight sigh of relief and asking, trying to cover his embarrassment, "Where did you go?"
After asking the question, he was stunned and suddenly felt like he was doing something wrong.
Han Tao walked quickly and stood in front of him in just a few steps: "The medicine was absorbed very quickly. When I saw you weren't there, I went out to look for you."
A cool breeze was blowing. For a moment, Fu Mingxu looked up and met those golden eyes. He couldn't help but think of the hairband in his arms, and he said with a guilty conscience, "Oh, I took the Demon Source Pill to Shen Ange."
The two were very close, and when Han Tao lowered his eyes, he could see the whorl of hair on the top of his head.
"You've been gone for so long?" A deep voice sounded from above, carrying an inexplicable urgency.
Fu Mingxu answered subconsciously, "Oh, I was just browsing around when I was bored and bought some things."
Dusk had fallen, and when he looked up, he couldn't quite see the expression on Han Tao's face, so he turned his head slightly away from him.
A slight sense of disappointment flashed through Han Tao's heart, but he still couldn't help asking, "What did you buy?"
The two were standing too close, their aggressive auras overwhelming him, causing Fu Mingxu to instinctively take a step back, only daring to breathe deeply after creating some distance between them.
"Just some trinkets." He really wanted to take out the golden hairband, but then felt he had no legitimate reason to do so. "Just a few robes."
At this moment, he was once again relieved that Han Tao did not know about the hairband.
Han Tao's gaze was deep, and his hands, which were hanging at his sides, suddenly tightened. He swallowed the question that was about to be asked and whispered, "Hmm."
Fu Mingxu somehow detected a hint of disappointment in the simple tone.
His heart pounded, the word "hairband" hovered between his lips and teeth before he bit it down, and he pinched his palm with the fingers hidden in his sleeve to calm his racing heart.
"Go and rest." Han Tao knew that it was impossible to get the result she wanted today, so she didn't dare to push him too hard and could only hide the emotions in her eyes.
Fu Mingxu looked up, but couldn't discern the expression on his face, so he could only hurriedly reply, "Okay, you should rest too."
He felt a moment of regret as he stepped past the other person, and even his breathing became a little disordered. In the end, he didn't even know how he shrank into the quilt when he returned to the room.
"What's wrong with me?" He rolled over, clutching the blanket, and couldn't help but pound his forehead. "It's just a hairband, what am I afraid of?"
Actually, he wanted to give the hairband to Han Tao.
But he just couldn't bring himself to say it, as if something terrible would happen if he did.
"Ah!!" he roared at himself in his heart, a feeling of frustration washing over him. Finally, he bit the corner of the blanket and muttered, "I'm so useless."
He wanted to sigh twice, but then he heard the sound of the side room closing. Startled, he quickly closed his eyes, as if he were falling asleep.
Outside the white veil, Han Tao stared at the bulging back for a long time.
...
For three consecutive days, Fu Mingxu felt that the atmosphere between him and Han Tao was a bit strange.
This strangeness manifested itself in the fact that although the other person still brought him all sorts of delicious food in a food box engraved with magic circles, the time spent talking to him each time decreased, and there was always a faint resentment in the eyes when looking at him.
Fu Mingxu couldn't figure out the reason for this strange change, and he felt a little depressed.
"What's wrong with you?" he couldn't help but ask on the third day. "You seem a bit strange lately. Is there something wrong with your Dragon Soul?"
Han Tao paused slightly in packing the food box, but his face remained calm and composed: "No, I'm fine."
This sentence effectively shut down any further questions Fu Mingxu might have asked, and a strange silence fell between the two of them.
Fortunately, the vibration of the communication talisman broke the silence. He lowered his eyes, took out the communication talisman, and Shen Ange's voice came through it clearly.
"Mingxu, come quickly." She said urgently, her voice punctuated by the noise of others speaking.
The silence broke in an instant, and Fu Mingxu lowered his head and asked, "What is it?"
Shen Ange said urgently, "Fu Shanqing, he said he knows about your father."
Fu Mingxu was suddenly startled. He didn't care about anything else and stood up abruptly: "Okay, I'm going now!"
His movements were so fast that even Han Tao didn't have time to react before he saw him run out of the room like a gust of wind, and he would probably open the courtyard gate and rush out next.
The food box was thrown into the storage bag, and just before the room was about to be closed by the wind, Han Tao flashed and appeared next to him.
Fu Mingxu felt his wrist tighten, the palm gripping his wrist was hot and strong. He instinctively struggled a couple of times, tilting his head to the side and saying, "Let me go, I have something urgent to do."
"I'll take you there." Han Tao didn't let go, her eyes lowered to meet his dark gaze. "Stand still."
The rough palm brought a sense of reassurance. Fu Mingxu, realizing what was happening, did not refuse. The moment he acquiesced, his waist tightened, followed by the whistling of the wind. When his feet touched the ground again, the two of them were already in front of Shen Ange's shop.
"Mingxu!" Shen Ange's anxious expression softened slightly when she saw him arrive. "Come with me quickly."
Fu Mingxu remembered what she had just said, but before he could ask, he had to quickly follow her, forgetting to pull his wrist away from hers.
Shen Ange led them into the inner hall. A-Shu, who had regained consciousness earlier, was leaning against the door frame. When she saw the group coming, her gaze lingered silently on the wrists of the two women that had touched for a moment before she smiled slightly and took a few steps back.
As soon as she left, the half-closed door opened completely, revealing the scene inside.
This was the first time Fu Mingxu had seen Fu Shanqing since the end of their trip to the secret realm. Even though he was mentally prepared, he was still taken aback by the sight before him.
In just a short time, the once spirited and proud son of the family had half his hair turned white, and he leaned against the bed, looking weak and listless.
Fu Mingxu glanced quickly and saw that his legs below the knees had disappeared.
Even though they had faced life-or-death situations in the secret realm, he couldn't feel happy seeing his current miserable state.
Sensing someone's arrival, Fu Shanqing, who had been keeping his eyes closed, opened his lifeless eyes and looked at Fu Mingxu.
The other person was dressed in a green robe, his figure as upright as a green bamboo, and his demeanor was even more handsome and eye-catching than before.
"You have news of my father?" Fu Mingxu remembered that he had tried to kill him in the secret realm. He showed no concern for him, but neither did he gloat or mock him. He went straight to the point, "What do you want?"
He didn't think Fu Shanqing was simply sending him a message.
Fu Shanqing braced himself with his hands, as if this would save him some face. But then he realized he couldn't stand up, and hatred welled up in his eyes.
"If you help me kill Fu Haoren and grind his bones to dust, I'll tell you!"
It seems that he and Fu Haoren have a deep-seated hatred between them.
Seeing that he remained silent, Fu Shanqing glanced at Han Tao and said in a voice as if it were poisoned: "With City Lord Han here, crushing Fu Haoren would be easier than crushing an ant?"
He thought Fu Mingxu wanted to maintain a kind image in front of Han Tao, so he reorganized his words and said, "Lord Han, don't you want to help your partner find his father?"
Han Tao looked at Fu Mingxu, clearly seeking his opinion.
Upon seeing this, Fu Shanqing was overjoyed, but a faint sense of jealousy also surfaced in his heart.
Now, he finally remembered that the marriage he had arranged to use Fu Mingxu as a way to bring good luck was originally his own.
If it were him back then...
Fu Shanqing lowered his eyelids, concealing the expression in his eyes.
He thought it was a simple matter, after all, he did have leverage to threaten Fu Mingxu, and according to his plan, Fu Haoren's unfortunate death was merely the reward for revealing a corner of that leverage.